Mirarr step up opposition to Ranger uranium

The traditional Aboriginal landowners around
Energy Resources of Australia
’s Ranger uranium mine have stepped up their opposition to further uranium mining in the area in the wake of the catastrophe at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor in Japan.

In a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon earlier this week, Yvonne Margarula, a senior traditional leader for the Mirarr people, restated the community’s opposition to the Ranger mine and to the development of the nearby Jabiluka deposit, one of Australia’s biggest undeveloped uranium resources.

The letter also highlights the water management problems being faced by Rio Tinto-controlled ERA at Ranger, where the mine waste dam is close to overflowing after particularly heavy rains during the wet season. ERA is coming to the end of a 12-week shutdown of ore processing at Ranger in a bid to prevent water levels at the tailing dam reaching critical levels, but recent heavy rains have triggered speculation that the shutdown will be prolonged.

Ms Margarula notes that about 12 million litres of radioactive contaminated water lie on site at Ranger, upstream of indigenous communities and listed wetlands.

“This is an industry that we have never supported in the past and that we want no part of into the future," she wrote. “I urge you to consider our viewpoint in your deliberations with governments in relation to the Fukushima emergency and the nuclear industry in general."

The opposition to mining at Ranger by the Mirarr may also affect the approvals process for the heap leach project and the Ranger Deeps mining project planned by ERA, analysts have said.

Merrill Lynch has warned clients of the likelihood of “a very lengthy approvals process" for the heap leach project, which it expects will cost about $100 million more than the consensus view of about $250 million.

“Cash flow conservation remains crucial, given a punishingly high $A is likely to further compound weak earnings this year," Merrill analyst Glen Chipman said in a report.